Aframax
Crude tanker 80,000-120,000 DWT — historically the AFRA (Average Freight Rate Assessment) midpoint; now the most common medium-haul crude size.
In practice
Standard for North Sea, Med, and Latin American crude / product trades. Coastal calls and lightering are common; officers gain pilotage and ship-handling experience.
Regulatory detail & full definition
Aframax is a class of crude-oil tanker of roughly 80,000 to 120,000 deadweight tonnes. The name comes from the Average Freight Rate Assessment (AFRA) tanker scale, on which this size sat near the midpoint, and the class is the workhorse of medium-haul crude trades in the US Atlantic, Caribbean, Mediterranean and North Sea. Its operating draft of about 15 metres lets it enter many ports closed to larger Suezmax and VLCC tankers. Many modern 'LR2' product tankers share the Aframax's dimensions but are built and coated to carry clean petroleum products rather than crude.
Related
Source: AFRA convention (Shell, 1954); Clarksons Tanker Register
High confidence
Editorial confidence: how we grade.